Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request

The number of prosecutions in relation to forced marriages in London between 2014 - 2018.

Request

I would like to know please under the FOI Act by individual calendar years of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.

The number of prosecutions relating to forced marriage in London only please.

Response

Please find attached spreadsheet that shows number of prosecutions relating to forced marriages between 2014 - 2018; this should be read in conjunction with the caveats contained within the spreadsheet.

You will note some of the data contained within the attached spreadsheet has been anonymised in line with Section 40 ‘Personal Information’ to protect the identity of those it relates to. It is necessary to anonymise this information to ensure individuals cannot be identified. Please refer to the attached Section 17 Refusal Notice, which explains this exemption in further detail.

In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) publishes forced marriage data in the annual Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) report. This can be accessed via the following link (pages 12 -13):

https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/cps-vawg-report-2018.pdf

Please note the flagged forced marriage data is inclusive of prosecutions for the specific forced marriage offences created by Section 120/121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and other offences arising out of the context of a forced marriage, such as threats, coercion or assaults.

Information Management Unit 020 3357 0899 IMU@cps.gov.uk